Written by Ghost frontman Tobias Forge and Metallica lead guitarist Kirk Hammett are among the 50 guest stars who will appear on a new album of re-recordings by German metal veterans Accept, who are celebrating their 50th anniversary in 2026.
Today (April 28), the heavy metal five-piece, best known for their 1983 hit single Balls To The Wall, announced Teutonic Titans 1976–2026, which will feature 19 of their songs remade with peers, friends and inspirations.
The album will come out on September 4 via Napalm Records. Pre-orders are now live.
Forge will sing lead vocals on a new version of Save Us, originally heard on Accept’s 1980 second album I’m A Rebel, joined by Korn’s Ray Luzier on drums. Hammett is set to appear on a rendition of Fast As A Shark, which will also have ex-Motörhead man and current Scorpions member Mikkey Dee on drums.
Other guests include Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford, who’ll sing Balls To The Wall. The Smashing Pumpkins singer/guitarist Billy Corgan and ex-Megadeth bassist David Ellefson will perform Love Child. Fozzy singer and pro-wrestler Chris Jericho, Blind Guardian’s Hansi Kürsch, ex-Judas Priest guitarist K.K. Downing and more will appear on as-yet-undisclosed songs.
Accept’s founding guitarist and sole remaining original member, Wolf Hoffman, comments: “There is no better way to celebrate this 50-year anniversary than to have our musical peers, friends, and inspirations come together with us to record these classic Accept songs, which I am honoured and proud to share with the world. I hope everyone enjoys this very special record as much as we all enjoyed making it.”
Formed in 1976, Accept are hailed as one of the pioneers of speed metal, their early albums such as 1982’s Running Wild and 1983’s Balls To The Wall having mixed traditional metal characteristics with faster, more aggressive tempos. Talking to Mariskal Rock TV in 2015, Hoffman claimed that the band’s 1982 single Fast As A Shark was “the first speed metal song ever”.
“Definitely, we have a big influence on a lot of people’s career,” he said. “There’s a lot of people that we never even expected to hear this from, but who said to me over the years, ‘You know, when I heard Restless And Wild back in the 80s, it changed my life and it made me become who I am as a musician.’ So a lot of musicians took that as a starting point to form their own careers.”
Earlier this year, Anthrax rhythm guitarist Scott Ian told Metal Hammer that the first time he jammed with his band’s drummer Charlie Benante, they played Fast As A Shark.
“Getting Charlie changed everything, because he could play double-kick drum really fast,” he said. “I remember going to meet him for the first time in his house in The Bronx, and he started playing Fast As A Shark by Accept. And he was playing it even faster than the record! I remember looking at Danny and his jaw was on the floor: ‘This is the guy.’”
Accept released their latest studio album, Humanoid, in 2024 and are currently gearing up for a 50th-anniversary tour, which starts at Karmøygeddon Metal Festival in Kopervik, Norway on May 1. See all of their planned shows and get tickets via their website.
